Millwall 2-1 Swansea City: Lions hold on to beat struggling Swans
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Charlie Cresswell (second left) celebrates his fifth goal of the season with his Millwall team-mates
Millwall strengthened their position in the Championship play-off places as they held on to beat Swansea City.
Charlie Cresswell's deflected shot put Millwall ahead before an error from goalkeeper Andy Fisher saw Andreas Voglsammer double the Lions' lead.
Ryan Manning quickly pulled a goal back for Swansea, who controlled much of the game but were made to pay - yet again - for their defensive frailties.
The win lifts Millwall to fifth, five points clear of seventh place.
Swansea are eight points above the bottom three in 17th, having taken only one point from their last six league fixtures.
Alarm bells are ringing for Russell Martin's Swans, who deserved something at The Den but have now won only three of their last 21 second-tier games.
While Swansea's slump in results continues, Millwall are celebrating back-to-back victories for the first time since October.
Boss Gary Rowett had urged his players to "embrace and enjoy" their promotion push going into this game, yet they cannot have savoured a match in which they were dominated for long spells.
But the result was all that mattered for Millwall, particularly with the end of the season coming into view.
The visitors' control brought an early sight of goal for Olivier Ntcham, whose crisp drive from outside the box was gathered at the second attempt by Millwall goalkeeper George Long.
His opposite number Fisher then pushed Ryan Leonard's long-range effort round the post, before Voglsammer headed across the face of goal from Zian Flemming's cross.
Swansea's dominance of the ball brought the best chance of the half just before half-time, but Ntcham volleyed wastefully wide after Long had pushed Luke Cundle's centre into his path.
Millwall's set-pieces had been a problem for Swansea in the first period - and three minutes after the restart, Martin's rearguard buckled.
Leonard's long throw did the damage, with players from both sides fighting over the loose ball before Cresswell's poked effort ricocheted into the net.
If Fisher was blameless there, he was at fault - not for the first time in recent weeks - as Millwall quickly added a second.
Andreas Voglsammer scores Millwall's second goal
George Honeyman's flick found Voglsammer in space just outside the box, and the German claimed his second goal in as many games as his low shot squirmed through Fisher and inside the post.
Having been exposed defensively once more, Swansea - who were watched by American co-owner Steve Kaplan - responded, with Matt Grimes driving goalwards from distance and Manning's instinctive flick giving them hope.
Swansea might have levelled as substitute Morgan Whittaker's drive was well saved and Joel Piroe's effort on the rebound was blocked by Cresswell.
Whittaker then saw another sweet strike parried to safety by Long, before Manning flashed a shot wide of the upright.
With that, Millwall's job was done.
Millwall manager Gary Rowett:
"There is a team out there who, whether we play well or not, are finding different ways to win games.
"I think at this stage of the season that is more important at times.
"We had to change formation at half-time. We tried to press them a bit higher and for 20 minutes we caused them problems - that's probably the 20 minutes that won us the game.
"We had to defend, we had to ride our luck a bit, but we have just about seen the game out and taken the points. We showed a real energy, we had some good moments, and we are a tough side to beat."
Swansea head coach Russell Martin:
"A really positive performance, first and second half. We have dominated in every facet of the game - I think the stats back that up.
"We concede two really poor goals, from a long throw and it's a mistake by Fish [Andy Fisher]. It's a really good performance for 90 minutes and we concede two poor goals which cost us.
"I really liked the look of the team. The shape worked really nicely. We really dominated the game, dominated in terms of chances.
"We concede too many poor goals, too many set-pieces, and just loads of individual mistakes unfortunately. It's frustrating because we definitely didn't deserve to lose."